The Friends of the Richardson Public Library award scholarships on an annual basis to college-bound senior year Richardson Public Library volunteers.
Our scholarship is named for Dorothy “Dot” McCalpin, a longtime Richardson resident and community leader, who believed that volunteer work should be a cornerstone of one’s life. We are delighted to make this annual scholarship available in Dot McCalpin’s honor and invite applications that exhibit this very spirit.
The Friends of the Richardson Public Library, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Dorothy E. “Dot” McCalpin Memorial Scholarship for 2024 has been awarded to three recipients: Kin Ping Yue, Sophia Costantino, and Idrees Sayeed. This is the first time in its history that three outstanding candidates received the annual scholarship.
Kin Ping Yue started volunteering at the library at the beginning of middle school. His volunteer experience with the library has included helping host the multicultural reading event and helping at Santa’s Village. He will be graduating from Garland High school before majoring in engineering in the fall at Texas A&M University.
Sophia Costantino has been part of TAB since she was 13 years old. Her most recent library volunteer experience was helping with the Tuzer Ballet Nutcracker Program, which she loved because she was in The Nutcracker as a child. She was homeschooled and will be majoring in Animal Science at either Purdue or Colorado State University in the fall.
Idrees Sayeed is an Eagle Scout who has volunteered on the Teen Advisory Board at the Richardson Public Library where he hosted Minute-to-Win-It, lead a Mario Kart tournament and wrote online book reviews during Covid. After graduating from Richardson High School, he will be attending UTD in the fall and majoring in neuroscience.
Graduating seniors who are college-bound and have been Richardson Public Library volunteers are eligible for this scholarship. The award is based on a combination of scholastic achievement, application essay, participation in school activities, community service, honors and organization affiliations, education objectives and academic and professional recommendations.
The application process is handled through the Richardson Public Library teen librarian. The scholarship is credited to the recipient's college account prior to the start of the fall semester.